Aftermath
by autumnsdark
Summary: After a birthday celebration Claire finds herself waking up next to a familiar face, the problem is she doesn't remember why they ended up in her bed in the first place! What happens the morning after and how do two close friends cope? GrayxClaire
1. The Morning After

My first try at fanfiction, be kind and review! :)

I don't own Harvest Moon!

* * *

**Chapter 1 – The Morning After**

Warm.

It was very warm, a comfortable sort of warm, but nonetheless warmer than usual.

Claire wiggled in her bed, snuggling under the covers. When had her bed gotten so cozy? She guessed that buying the larger second bed hadn't been such a terrible idea after all. Smiling, she lazily opened her eyes.

She was greeted with an eyeful of chest.

Claire paused for a moment, not exactly registering what she was seeing. It was indeed chest, very warm chest and it was definitely in her bed. In fact, she slowly noted, it was what she'd been snuggling up to all along. As her senses started to wake up she became quite aware of a pair of arms wrapped around her midsection, and the light breathing that came from above her head. Finally, it became very apparent to her that she was in fact, naked and slowly a sense of fear and dread filled her body.

Terrified and confused she very slowly began to unwrap the pair of arms from around her, she was too scared to look up at whom she was sharing her bed with. When she had almost slid out from the warm embrace a groan emanated from the person beside her. Claire froze and slowly tipped her head up.

She saw a man, well of course she'd see a man, but this man had very handsome features with soft brown hair and was mildly familiar. She almost didn't recognize him but when his identity dawned on her she couldn't believe it. She absolutely couldn't believe it.

His eyes fluttered open, as he woke his arms contracted around Claire again, pushing her right back up against his chest. Moaning he pressed his face into her hair and sighed. That was it. Claire couldn't take it anymore and she let out an ear piercing scream.

"D…don't touch me!!" She yelped in her best 'angry and assertive' voice and quickly sat up gathering the sheets around her bare body. The man was definitely awake now, his eyes were still bleary but he looked at her in shock.

"Claire?" His voice was low and husky and it sent shivers down her spine. But when he sat up and reached for her shoulder she panicked. Pushing his arm away she grabbed all the blanket she could carry and dashed off her bed and straight into her bathroom.

"I said don't touch me!" she cried after she had safely locked the door. Slumping onto the floor she wrapped the blanket around herself, shivering. What in the name of the harvest goddess had happened last night? Why was _he_ in her bed of all places? With her mind reeling Claire tried her best to remember what had happened last night. She remembered the inn, and she remembered a birthday…

Suddenly the front door clicked open and shut. Carefully Claire opened the bathroom door just a crack, her house was empty, and so was her bed. Cautiously she tiptoed out of the bathroom and dressed as quickly as she could. After snapping her overalls into place she gathered all her sheets and threw them into the wash. Her mind was still doing summersaults and a horrid headache had begun to kick in. Checking the calendar she realized yesterday had been Karen's birthday and Claire remembered going to the inn to celebrate with the others.

If it had been Karen's birthday there must have been alcohol, and if there had been alcohol people must have gotten drunk. Which meant, in the best possible scenario, that this whole fiasco had occurred because of poor drunken judgment.

Miserable, Claire began to make breakfast but as she sat down to eat she felt something funny on her chair. She had sat on something; more specifically she had sat on a hat. She looked at it and the word UMA looked right back at her.

* * *

Well, I'm certainly not confident about this but I hope it's good enough to entertain you folks out there!

I love the Gray/Claire pairing. :)


	2. The Return

On to chapter 2

--

There was something very wrong with this situation.

Gray had just stumbled out of Claire's house, and he was more than just confused.

Well, for one thing, he'd been naked (and so had Claire, he noted blushing madly). That was something to be concerned over. They'd also been in the same bed together and they both seemed to not recall what had happened last night.

He checked his watch and moaned in dismay, to top it all off he was late for work. He wouldn't hear the end of it from his grandfather.

The autumn breeze ruffled his hair and his ears felt unusually cold. He felt his head, and immediately realized something very important was missing. _My hat…my hat…_Things couldn't get any better, he must have left it at Claire's. His hat, his favorite hat, his security blanket of a hat! How could he have forgotten it? He would have preferred forgetting his pants (ok not really) than his hat. Torn, he stood in the middle of the cobblestone walkway. Return for his hat and be even later for work? Go to work and face having Claire return it for him? They both seemed like a death sentence.

Begrudgingly he shuffled to the blacksmith's shop, his grandfather's wrath overpowering the need for his headgear. Gray opened the door and walked in, he was greeted by his grandfather's angry stare.

"You're late." Saibara was less than impressed by his grandson's tardiness.

"Uh…yeah, sorry."

Angered by Gray's lack of response and his less than convincing apology Saibara decided it was lecture time.

"Just because you go drinking late at night doesn't mean you're allowed to be late for work Gray! Where's your motivation, at this rate I'll drop dead before you become an accomplished blacksmith!"

Gray rolled his eyes and immediately regretted it; he was met with angrier words and meaner glares. Saibara even started shaking his finger at him, he was in deep shit.

"All right, all right. I said I was sorry! Why don't you cut me some slack for once in your life."

"Slack…you want me to cut you slack?" Saibara growled angrily, his furry eyebrows knitting together. "When I was your age working as an apprentice, slack didn't even exist!"

'There he goes again.' Gray thought, annoyed as he picked up his tools and began working but he immediately regretted it, as he remembered he was upgrading a tool that belonged to Claire. He quickly switched his priorities and began work on Barley's tools instead. A grumbling Saibara settled in at his desk by the front of the store, leaving his grandson alone with his thoughts. Gray let out a troubled sigh, glanced at Claire's partially upgraded tool and frowned, what the hell was he going to do?

* * *

Looking out the window Claire noted that the Harvest Sprites were up bright and early. She watched them work from her window, unwilling to go out and help them. In fact, she was unwilling to do much of anything except for walk around her house and worry over a certain hat on her table. Why Gray was so in love with this ratty old thing she had no idea, it wasn't even a nice hat anyway, what the hell was UMA supposed to mean.

She became quite fed up with herself, why did her thoughts keep drifting back to Gray. She had to stop thinking about him, she had to get her mind occupied. Half an hour later Claire found herself helping the Harvest Sprites water and harvest her crops and tend to her animals. In truth, she was still thinking about him, but she was busy and only the occasional thought popped into her head.

After a few hours of back breaking work Claire and the Sprites had finally finished. The seven colorfully dressed, elf eared gnome like creatures had certainly grown on her and she found herself constantly buying bags of flour to give to them.

With work done her mind began to wander again, and it wandered to a certain person she was trying to not think about.

"Claire?" She looked down, Chef looked back, worry knitted into his tiny face. "What's wrong? You look upset!"

And with that the six others gathered around with worried looks and questions.

"Claire's upset?"

"Who made you sad?"

"What happened?"

"Don't worry! We'll always be your friends!"

"Is it because of us?"

"Do you need a hug Claire?"

How overwhelming, yet, touching. They were all so sweet.

"Don't worry guys! I'm fine, do I really look that sad to you?" She put on a bright gleaming smile. "See? I'm alright, and the days work is done too, you should all go home and get some rest!"

After much reassurance and smiles the seven Sprites reluctantly bade her farewell and left her farm. But as soon as she was alone her thoughts immediately dashed back to what had happened that morning and of the hat and its owner. She couldn't beat around the bush all day so she grabbed his hat from her table and left for the inn.

* * *

"Oh…h-hi Ann." Cliff blushed madly as Ann walked down the stairs.

"Hey you guys!" She smiled broadly at the two people sitting at the table. Gray chewed on his toothpick and resisted the urge to slap Cliff, who had gone silent, in the head. Why the hell did he say hi to her and then say nothing afterwards, Ann always ended up chatting _his_ ear off instead.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait a sec!" Ann paused in front of the two and looked intently at Gray. "There's something totally wrong with this picture."

Stroking her chin she grinned.

"Oh Gray, I knew you'd grow out of that hat at some point. I'm so proud of you! So proud in fact, dinners on the house!" She clapped her hands and made such a scene everyone else in the inn turned to look. Gray sunk into his chair, how embarrassing, people were actually congratulating him.

"Gray! I had no idea how handsome you looked without that old hat!" Manna laughed while Duke ruffled his hair. How well did he know these guys again?

At that moment Claire walked into the inn, his hat in her hands.

"Claire guess what! Gray's finally outgrown his hat!" Ann laughed and slung her arm over Claire's shoulder. "I think you should go over and congratulate the man."

"He…outgrew his hat?" Claire smiled weakly and gripped the hat in question tightly as Ann dragged her over to where Cliff and Gray were sitting.

"H-hey there Cliff…Gray…I actually have something that belongs to you. It's sort of, sort of your hat." She proffered the cap to Gray.

"What the- Why the hell do you have his hat Claire?" Ann said, a little too loudly.

Gray took the hat quickly and put it on, giving Ann an annoyed look. "None of your business Ann. Claire, I actually need to talk to you."

"W-well! Excuse me for being curious, and you know what, dinner's not on the house anymore!" Ann huffed angrily and walked away from the table.

"I actually can't talk right now Gray…" Claire had already started leaving the table, but Gray caught her arm and pulled her up the stairs.

"It's important."

Cliff sighed as he sat alone at the table, he was feeling a little more than ignored.

--

I just love Cliff, he's so cute!


	3. The Secret

Whoaaaa, update _finally_.

Sorry if this chapter seems half assed. I reworked and rewrote it a dozen times, seriously. This is the best version I could come up with so enjoy it, dammit.

As usual, reviews would be much appreciated :)

--

He climbed up the stairs, his hand tightly grasped around her wrist. This day so far had been frustrating, confusing and embarrassing, overall it was wonderfully horrible and if anything he was getting some answers. Of course, it wasn't going to be easy, Claire was already having a fit as he pulled her up the last few steps of the inn.

"Really, Gray, I don't think we have anything to talk about. So…lemme go dammit!" She struggled against his hold but her efforts were wasted as she simply just tired herself out in the end.

"You know just as well as I do," he let go of her wrist, "that we have _serious_ things to talk about." As he glared at her from under the brim of his hat she realized he really meant it, like, _really_ meant it. Gulping down her pride and fear she nodded dumbly, prepared to…discuss events she'd rather repress in her memories.

Gray crossed his arms and frowned, now that he actually had her in front of him he wasn't sure where to begin. How do you talk about something as awkward as what had happened? He glanced at her, hoping she would start talking but her mouth was seemingly glued shut, sighing he spoke up, she wasn't going to any time soon.

"So…first things first I guess, we're sure we did…_that_ right? I mean, we just aren't getting worked up over nothing now are we?"

Her cheeks flamed with blush; did they really have to talk about it? In her mind it was obvious enough what had taken place.

"Y-yea, I'm pretty sure it happened, I mean we…both woke up naked right? I would think that was an obvious enough sign. But so what! Let's just forget this ever happened ok? It's not exactly something we want people in town to find out about, so I don't want to ever talk about this again!" She crossed her arms and huffed angrily, still avoiding eye contact.

He looked at her being all defiant faced and angry. Of course, Claire never made things any easier.

"Just hold on alright? Claire, I mean you have to think about the big picture, what if you end up pregnant of something? Don't you think we should address that possibility?"

_Pregnant?!_ Claire's mind began dancing in circles. What the hell, why hadn't that ever crossed her mind? _Pregnant?!_ Her mouth gaped open, what was she supposed to say to that, her eyes darted to his face, his completely serious face. Oh Goddess. _Pregnant?! _There was only one possible solution to this, denial.

"Gray it was only one night, there's no way I could be pregnant. It's impossible." She laughed, trying to make light of the conversation but her thoughts lead her to believe otherwise. Why couldn't it happen? She doubted they used anything like a condom, therefore they'd been completely unprotected; pregnancy was one hell of a possibility and yet she looked at Gray boldly, she wasn't going to admit it.

Gray on the other hand was getting a little pissed off. Sure he and Claire got along fine, but there were times when they became absolutely livid with each other, he deduced it was the mix of her outright stubbornness to his sour temperament. Either way, when they clashed people knew to get out of the way, he was just glad he was alone with her at the moment.

"Don't be stupid Claire, what are you going to do if you really are? If it really did happen! What are you going to do…what are _we_ going to do??" His voice came out angrier than he had expected and Claire shrank back slightly from his words, but she came back with full force.

"We…we don't have to do anything Gray because nothing is going to happen! Why can't you just let things go, you're such a freakin' nag. Forget it alright? Forget it!" Her pitch became shrill and she turned away in a huff, she was done with this conversation.

Gray groaned in frustration, Claire was so difficult but he knew her well enough to know when to back down. He tried a different approach.

"I'm just telling you to think about it alright? Something like pregnancy isn't guaranteed but we have to take it into consideration." Claire frowned, she hated when Gray sounded more mature than she did.

"Yeah, yeah, alright." She shrugged her shoulders indifferently and walked away. Her head was buzzing with crazy thoughts and ideas and all she wanted to do was go to bed.

Gray watched her trudge down the stairs and sighed. Their little talk had been worse than what he was aiming for, he could tell she was too afraid to consider the possibility of pregnancy but then again, maybe he was just over thinking things. It really was just one night, what were the chances.

* * *

Zack looked up as Claire walked through the door. Glancing at the clock he wondered what she was doing here so late.

Won greeted her with his salesman grin, "Perfect timing Claire! I'm having my late night special!" but she simply ignored the man in yellow and walked straight up to Zack. Won pouted.

"H-hey Claire, how's it going? What bring you here at this…um…hour?" her intense gaze was making him uncomfortable.

"Keep this a secret for me Zack?"

"Keep what a-"

"Order me a pregnancy test."

Zack's eyebrow shot up, and he regarded her with a look of utmost surprise. Maybe he heard her wrong.

"You want me to order you a _what_?"

"A pregnancy test."

This time her face was tinged with blush as he began scratching his head.

"Now why would a nice, unmarried girl like you be wanting something like a pregnancy test?" Her face was becoming more and more red by the second, he decided to drop the question, "Well, I guess it's none of my business, but sure I could order it for you but I can't just go ordering one pregnancy test, they'll come as a pack. In a box."

Claire's face went blank, a whole box of pregnancy tests? She only needed on of the little things!

"A box of pregnancy tests? You're joking, you've got to be." But Zack grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

"Sorry kiddo, things like that just don't come in singles."

"F-fine! Fine, just as long as I get one of those bloody things." She began digging into her rucksack for the money, "Thanks though, I mean, I really appreciate this, just don't tell anyone?" She looked up at Zack hopefully.

"My lips are sealed Claire, you can count on me." He knew how much the gossip queens of Mineral Town would rip up a story like this, which is why he kept all his Lillia pictures inside where no one else could see them.

"Ohh, thanks Zack, you don't know how much that means right now. I _really_ don't want something like this getting out." She turned her attention to the front of the house, "You too Won, could you keep this our little secret?"

Won looked up from his little crate desk, "Maybe if you buy something" he answered somberly.

* * *

The marker left a thick red circle on Claire's calendar. Recording her period would give her some sense of comfort, but as she stared at the marked date she felt more distressed than ever. The robust red mark just made the possibility of pregnancy even more realistic. She tossed the marker angrily onto the table and flopped into bed, the pregnancy tests would arrive within the week, but she'd only use one if she was late.

"I'm not going to be late, there's absolutely no way."

--

Haaaaaaa, done reading? Then review...if you feel the need.

She's obviously going to get pregnant. So put out those doubts of non-pregnancy cuz there's a baby a-comin'.

As a side note, I ALWAYS forget to mark my period! ALWAYSSS, it's terrible, it always just _happens_ and I'm caught completely offgaurd. It's horrible.

I'll try to get the next chapter out asap!


	4. The Test

"Apple pie and…cheesecake!"

"Jeez Claire, you just had lunch and you still have room for two desserts?"

"Hey don't question, just serve."

Ann rolled her eyes, "Don't come crying to me when you become a fatty."

Claire's stomach suddenly rumbled in a very unladylike manner.

"Get me my dessert or Goddess help you I'll get them myself, and I can't assure you that you'll have any left after I'm done with them!"

The waitress 'hmph-ed' and went to fetch Claire her precious dessert cakes, and when they arrived at the table they were gone in a matter of minutes. Vacuumed up before Ann had time to coherently understand where they had gone.

"Jiminy crickets! You sure have one hell of an appetite, those desserts didn't stand a chance against you." She exclaimed as she took the plate away and gave Claire a raised eyebrow look, for she was still going through the menu.

"Oh man, I know I shouldn't but could you gimme an order of the cookies as well?" Claire smiled sheepishly at Ann, "I'm just starved!"

The blonde had been feeling on top of the world lately as she'd put the dreaded morning behind her. The only thing she missed was her fairly close friendship with Gray, they'd grown apart after they'd had that talk at the top of the stairs in the inn. The horrible box of pregnancy tests was safely tucked away underneath her bed and she'd honestly not had another worry in her head since.

A plate of chocolate cookies clattered noisily onto Claire's table.

"I'm eating half of these because if you ask me twelve cookies for one girl just isn't healthy." Ann plopped onto the seat across from Claire and bit viciously into the crumbly cookie. She chewed with great vehemence and violently snapped at Harris when he'd tried to call her over to place an order for his lunch. Claire's blue eyes peered at Ann curiously.

"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." She stated as Ann shoved another cookie into her mouth.

"Listen to me Claire, as much as I love him, I hate my father right now!" Her first clenched in anger and the cookie she was holding crumbled to pieces, Claire looked at the bits on the table sadly, what a waste of cookie.

"It's no fair, he tells me I should start thinking about getting married, but when I finally find the guy of my dreams he says 'find someone other than him'! How hypocritical and stupid it's unjust and the worst part is I can't storm off and be angry because I have to work in this bloody inn!" Claire was glad Doug was in the back room because Ann's voice had gotten pretty loud.

"You know what…you know what! I don't have to work here, Claire I'm leaving! The oppression of two lovers has to stop at some point! I'm going to find Cliff!" Before Claire could answer, Ann marched right out the front doors. The plate still had three cookies left and Claire's sweet tooth was still acting up, so she pocketed the cookies, placed her money on the table and left.

Ann always was horribly impulsive.

* * *

Strawberries sounded good, in fact they sounded delicious. Claire rummaged through her fridge but was disappointed to find that she had forgotten to save strawberries from the last spring harvest. She looked outside at her snow covered fields and grumbled. She _really_ wanted strawberries, but where could she get them during winter?

She settled for an apple instead and glanced at the clock, she was surprised at the time, it was two in the morning. Her constant hunger pangs were getting a little out hand she decided, she'd been eating like a horse these past few days although the craving for sweets and pastries was something she was used to.

The calendar caught her eye, actually, shouldn't she be expecting her period soon? She flipped back a page to see that it had been a month and 4 days since her last cycle. Meaning she was 4 days late…of course it was normal to be maybe be off a few days. The apple core was tossed into the garbage and she went to sleep, she'd rather not think about things like that this late at nigh

The days passed and everything went routinely until one morning she awoke in a frenzy. Dashing to her washroom she barely made it in time to the toilet as she threw up last night's dinner.

_Well, that's worrisome._ Claire thought absentmindedly as she washed out her mouth. She also noted that her period still had not come, it had been a two weeks since she'd last looked at her calendar. Begrudgingly, in the bright early morning hours of winter she shuffled back to her bed and reached underneath, pulling out a box of First Response pregnancy tests.

With shaky hands she took one of the small boxes and opened it. A slender thermometer like stick slid out, with a sigh she returned to the bathroom crossing her fingers for the best.

* * *

Since it was his day off and he was planning on going to the library, like he did every Thursday. Throwing on a jacket and scarf he left the warmth of the inn, it had snowed heavily last night and he trekked through the streets with some difficulty. He was halfway to the library when someone grabbed the tail of his scarf and pulled him backwards, effectively making him choke.

"Wh-what the hell?" When the scarf went lax he whipped around angrily. Claire scowled back, equally miserable looking.

"Gray, we have something extremely serious to talk about."

"Oh, so now you want to talk? Well you know what, I'd rather not." He started walking away again but she still held his scarf and she tugged it back once again.

"Will you stop that? What the hell's so important anyway?"

She promptly thrust a plastic stick into his gloved hands.

"Don't worry, I washed it." She spoke quietly but he didn't exactly get it, he stared at the stick dumbly.

"What is this?"

Rolling her eyes she pointed at the tiny oval on the stick, it had two red lines in it.

"This means I'm pregnant."

--

1 line means your not pregnant, 2 lines means you are! Hurray for First Response pregnancy tests

Reviews would make me a very happy person.


	5. The Decision

**Warning **to you younglings out there, this chapter contains some profane language, not a lot, just a 'lil.

--

The dog sniffed at Gray's shoes.

"Hey, get lost you stupid animal!"

Alright, it's not like he hated animals or anything, it's just that he was in one of the worst situations ever imaginable right now and he didn't have the patience to be bothered by a mindless pet. He actually quite liked Claire's dog, nonetheless the poor thing dragged itself into a corner, ears drooping and tail between its legs. Well, now he felt bad.

For some reason sitting in Claire's house was making him unusually apprehensive. His arms were crossed and he tapped his foot in an agitated manner, what the hell was taking so long? After what seemed like an eternity the bathroom door opened and Claire stepped out.

"Positive."

"Y-you sound so sure, just how reliable are these?"

"I said it was positive, so it's positive."

"…Why the hell do you even have this freakin' box of pregnancy tests anway, you keep them for whenever you sleep around?"

"I have them because you told me to 'consider the possibility'! So shut your face!" She threw the plastic stick at him angrily. "Take a look for yourself."

His eyes narrowed at the two red lines.

"Well what the fuck."

"Hey it was your idea to do a re-test, not like it was going to change anything." She shrugged as she leaned on her countertop.

"I'm still skeptical about these things," he tossed the pregnancy test into the trash, "Let's go talk to Tim."

"You're planning on telling _Tim_? How can you do that! He'll tell everyone, I'll be run out of town…you too! We'll be renegades…homeless renegades…homeless _pregnant_ renegades!"

Gray groaned, Claire was so un-fucking-believably idiotic.

"This is Tim the doctor we're talking about Claire, if we wanted to be ostracized from everyone we could tell someone like _Manna_. C'mon, a pregnancy test is nothing compared to a doctors diagnosis."

The blonde pouted, "But…I don't wanna."

He resisted the urge to smack her, instead he hoisted her over his shoulder and walked out the door.

"Uwahh, Gray you dumb…freak! Let go of me!"

* * *

Tim looked at the spectacle in the front lobby with tired eyes, not even noon and there was trouble brewing.

Gray had dumped Claire very unceremoniously onto the linoleum floor and now she was pounding his back with angry clenched fists, cursing all the while. Gray obviously didn't seem bothered because he walked over and greeted the doctor.

"Tim, how's it going?" He removed his baseball hat and nodded at Elli, who sitting at her desk.

"Things are fine, as always…and how are you today…Claire?" The girl in question halted her barrage on the blacksmith and looked at Tim.

"Oh, things could be better." Shrugging she slid off her jacket and scarf. "Actually doctor, there was something Gray and I needed to talk to you about."

Gray folded his arms and a serious look overcame his features, "It's sort of a private matter too, so it'd be great if you could keep quiet about it."

Tim nodded in an understanding manner but thought curiously as they walked into his office, what these two could possibly be hiding? Suddenly Claire shuffled foreword, just inches from his face.

"C-Claire, I must a-ask you to step back. You-you're violating my personal b-bubble." Tim stammered and pinked furiously until she pinched his cheek roughly.

"Tim this is serious, we _need_ you to keep quiet. Like…_really_ keep quiet."

Claire's super pinch held him in place as Gray leaned foreword in a very menacing manner.

"We mean it Tim, keep your mouth shut, or I'll shut it for you."

The fingers released his cheek and Tim backed away, these two were freaking him out. But nonetheless, it was his duty as a doctor to help those in need, and these two really seemed like they were in some serious need.

"Consider my mouth shut. Ahem, well then, what's the problem?"

Claire looked at Gray, "You tell him."

"You're kidding right? You do it."

"It's your fault! You say it!"

"My fault…? You little…" Gray's fists clenched angrily and Claire glared furiously.

"You little…you little what? What're you gonna call me, huh?"

Tim sighed, what happened to these two? From best friends to bitter enemies? He shook his head and was about to try and break up their argument when Claire stamped her foot angrily and hissed out an extremely shocking proclamation.

"You-you're the one who got me…_pregnant_."

Oh. So that's what the problem was.

Gray looked shocked as he floundered for a come back.

"It takes two to make a baby you know." He was blushing furiously.

* * *

"Well that was a waste of time."

"It was your idea."

"Would you _please_ stop saying that, Claire? Goddess, it's my day off today and I'm even more stressed than usual."

Gray slumped into Claire's bed, his head in his hands. The tests Tim had run were, of course, positive for pregnancy. It had been a waste of time and he was more fed up than ever.

"Well grumping about like that isn't going to do you any good, you're the one who was all prepared for this a while back, what happened?" She was eating ice cream straight from the tub, he grunted and joined her.

"I ended up convincing myself that it would never happen after you yelled at me." He scooped up a spoonful of ice cream. "Cookie dough, not exactly my favorite."

When he went in for more she held the tub out of reach. "If it's not your favorite stop eating it, I'm eating for two now." She patted her (for now) flat stomach to emphasize her statement.

"I don't see why you're making this some sort of light-hearted conversation, this is serious shit. We need to think of a plan, ever consider abortion?"

He was promptly attacked with a large ice cream scoop.

"I will never consider abortion! You hear me Gray? Never! Babies, although still in the womb are people too, it's like…murder or something!"

He grabbed her hand firmly, "Calm down, God, I was kidding. Besides, if you were to get an abortion you'd have to go back to the city." He shrugged, "Doesn't seem worth the trouble in my eyes."

She went back to her ice cream and was quiet for a moment.

"So what do you propose?"

"I propose…to propose."

Claire sucked the spoon thoughtfully, "That…doesn't make any sense."

Sighing angrily Gray grabbed the spoon and ice cream tub from her, "Goddess Claire! Don't be so dimwitted, I know you're smarter than _that_. It's my responsibility right? I'll marry you if I have to." He turned away from her in an angry huff, or perhaps it was embarrassment.

"Huh, never thought you were the type. Here I was believing you'd leave me high and dry with a little bundle of unwanted joy."

"W-what the hell, if that's what you really want I'd be happy to stay a bachelor for a couple more years." He mumbled his mouth full of ice cream.

She smiled softly as she looked at the half eaten ice cream tub in his hands. "No…I'd rather like that first option…stick to your responsibility." She patted his back happily. "Just make sure when you give me that blue feather it'll be romantic."

He scoffed. "Wha-whatever. Idiot." He shoved the ice cream back into her hands. "You're eating for two now, so…don't screw things up."

He left an hour later and Claire thought to herself as she watched him from her window, that maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.

--

Finally! Some actual relationship established between these two.

I see Gray as a bit of a jerk, hopefully he came out that way in this chapter. Aww, but he'll be a good papa, you know it ;)

Also, to all my reviewers so far just a word of **thanks**, your reviews mean so much to me!


	6. The Romantic Proposal

His palms were sweaty, he rubbed them against his pants. Goddess, why did this have to be so hard. He reached for the door handle but stepped away at the last minute, exhaling heavily. This was irritating, all he had to do was walk in and buy the stupid thing, why couldn't he even get himself to open the door. He groaned and crouched in the snow, he just needed to calm down.

"Ok, I can do this. In and out, it'll be quick."

He sucked in a breath of cold winter air as his hand clasped the icy door handle. He pulled. Hm, it wasn't opening. He pulled again, and again…and again. What the? He planted his foot on the wall next to the door and, with two hands this time, pulled at the door with all the power he could muster.

"Rrrghhh…" Gray grunted angrily, and suddenly slipped and fell into the snow. "Fucking hell…"

"Hey! Grandma says that's a _bad_ word!"

Gray jumped and twisted around to see who had just spoken. Stu, clad in a ridiculously puffy white winter jacket, was pointing at him with a huge grin on his face.

"Hahaha, stupid, you fell in the snow!!"

Now he was being ridiculed by a child. Gray picked himself up from the cold ground and stalked away, brushing past the little boy angrily.

"Hey wait! Mr. Hat come back!"

Mr. Hat? Stu tugged on Gray's pants desperately, "I'm sorry! Don't be mad now!"

The little boy began to cry when Gray ignored him, "I-I-I'm s-sorry! S-sorry!"

The tears running down the boys face started to tug at Gray's heartstrings, so he stopped and lowered himself to his knees and reluctantly placed his hand on the boys' shoulders.

"It's…alright…I guess." Man, he didn't know how to handle kids. "Don't cry anymore."

The crocodile tears stopped flowing immediately and Stu grinned back at Gray toothily, "You're funny Mr. Hat! Trying to go to the store when it's closed! Take me to the church instead!" In monkey like fashion he clambered onto Gray's back, but Gray took no notice.

_Closed. The store's closed on Tuesdays_. He mentally kicked himself, _stupid, stupid._ His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp kicking at his sides, Stu whined impatiently. "Church! Church! Church! Church"

Uncomfortably Gray hoisted Stu onto his back and trudged down the pathway. Soon enough they met up with Pastor Carter and May.

"P-piggy backs?" The little pigtailed girl gasped when she spied Stu atop Gray's back. "…Me too!" She outstretched her arms towards Gray, who mentally groaned. Little boys weren't _that_ bad, but little girls gave him more trouble than he needed.

"Ew! No way May, my big bro won't give you a piggy back 'cos you smell like cows!" Stu pulled on his 'bro's' ear, "Right big bro?"

Pastor Carter chuckled at Gray's pained expression, "Big Bro?"

"He started calling me that halfway here because I asked him not to call me 'Mr. Hat.'" Gray shook his head, "I actually preferred that over big bro."

Carter laughed quietly and looked pointedly at the little boy currently trying to pull off Gray's hat, "Now Stu, don't you think May should get to ride as well? It's only fair."

May, who had started sniffling and kicking at the snow after the 'smelling like cows' comment, instantly brightened, "Yah! It's my turn now."

"But…he's _my_ big bro!"

Gray grunted and set Stu onto the ground, he would have just turned away and left but Pastor Carter was watching him carefully so he picked up May quickly.

"There, now you get one too." He mumbled as May clung to his back.

"Now he's _my_ big bro!" She cheered happily while Stu stamped his feet in the snow. The Pastor just laughed and knelt beside Stu, "See how happy May is? You two just need to learn how to share. Gray can be big bro to the both of you."

_Thanks a lot, Pastor._ Gray thought miserably.

"Wow! I only got my big sis, but now I have a big bro too!"

"I don't even have a big sis!" May's high pitched voice rang out in Gray's ear as she hugged his neck, "Big bro you're the best!"

"Uhhh…" Honestly, he had no idea what to say.

He spent the rest of the afternoon in front of the church with the Pastor and two children, it wasn't like he had anything better to do. The library had lost its charms and he just didn't feel like returning to his grandpa's or the inn. And he had to admit, those kids weren't all that horrible, in fact he almost kind of enjoyed himself. Almost. He just had to remember to not swear in front of them.

"Walk me home big bro."

May was tugging at his hand lightly, looking up at him with large chocolate brown eyes.

"Bro's walking _me_ home!"

Stu pulled at Gray's other hand while he stuck his tongue out at May.

_Oh Goddess._ Thankfully he was saved by Carter, who spoke to May gently.

"Your big bro can't possibly walk two people home at the same time, I'll walk you home this time May, and big bro will walk you home next time." May pouted but gave in quickly. After waving and shouting an animated goodbye Stu looked up at Gray drowsily.

"Hey bro, I'm tired now. Take me home."

Stu and Gray were passing the clinic when Jeff walked out, his routine check-up had gone better than he expected and he was in good spirits.

"Hello Mr. Jeff." Stu called out.

"Jeff? Uhh, hey I need to talk to you." Gray slowed down to match Jeff's pace, "Listen, I know the store's closed today, but I really need to buy something. Is it possible for me to make a quick purchase?"

"What're you buying bro? Something for me?"

"Well…" Jeff thought for a moment, if Sasha found out he was doing business on his day off she'd be upset, but then again, why not? Gray was a good guy most of the time anyway. "No problem! Just…don't tell Sasha."

"Really? That's great, let me bring Stu home first."

"What! No way bro, I'm going too!"

"You just said you were tired…" Gray tried to glare the kid down but Stu stuck out his lower lip and held a steadfast gaze.

"I want chocolate!" He finally declared.

"…Fine."

Stu grinned triumphantly and raced down to the store.

Gray sulked and muttered under his breath, "What a brat, he was just tired a minute ago."

"Ahh, kids will be kids, what can you do?" Jeff gave a wheezing laugh, "You'll understand once you have your own someday."

'_Someday' isn't exactly that far off…_

They entered the general store, Stu making a beeline for the chocolate shelf while Gray reluctantly wandered over to the opposite end of the store. He eyed the blue feather suspiciously.

Just a week ago he'd convinced Cliff to go in and pre-order it for him.

"_C'mon Cliff, you can do it can't you?" _

"…_Gray…why can't you do it yourself…" _

"_Hey man I put up listening to Ann blab away every night while you sit and twiddle your thumbs, the least you can do is order me a blue feather." _

"_That actually has nothing to do-"_

"_Goddess, I knew you were unreliable."_

"…"

"_Fine, thanks for nothing." _

"…_Ok, I'll do it." _

"_Alright Cliff! I knew you were the man, now stop making those freaky flower necklaces and you're in the clear."_

If he was too embarrassed to order himself a blue feather how could he possibly go up and buy the godforsaken thing. Maybe he'd get Cliff to buy it for him…

"Interested in the blue feather?" Jeff asked from the counter.

"Uhh! Uhmm, yes…I mean no. No. Yes." Gray stammered and stared at his shoes, embarrassed.

"Bro, you sound stupid!" Stu looked at him, his hands were already filled with chocolate bars but he managed to pluck the blue feather off the shelf and dump the armload onto Jeff's countertop.

"Hurry and pay for these bro, Grandma's gonna be worried if I stay out too late!"

Gray dug in his wallet for the money, who the hell knew blue feathers were so freakin' expensive?

"Thanks you two, come by when we're open next time!"

As the two of them stepped back outside Stu began shoving the chocolate bars into his coat and stated simply, "Sis is gonna be mad when she see's my candy."

* * *

Gray dropped Stu off at home and walked down the streets. He knew it was just a feather, but for some reason it felt unusually heavy in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at it carefully in the dimming light, there wasn't anything special about it…it really was just a blue feather. He waved it around a bit, the stupid thing was probably synthetic. How did something as simple as this represent love and proposal? Well, it was easier than buying a diamond ring, it certainly was easier on his wallet.

"What the heck are you doing?"

Gray glanced down the street. Claire was looking at him curiously her hands on her hips, a slight grin on her face. He shoved the feather back into his pocket and pulled his hat over his eyes.

"Not doin' anything, mind your own business." He muttered as he tried to walk past her, but she shoved her hand in his pocket as he walked by.

"You're obviously doing _something_! What're you waving around?" She struggled with him, trying to grasp the, unknown to her, blue feather. Finally she elbowed Gray in the ribs and triumphantly flourished her prize as he nursed his side.

"What? It's just a blue feather? I thought you had something more interesting than _this_." She pressed the feather back into his hands, "Here, you can have it back."

"Y-you idiot! This stupid thing is for you, so…take it!" He shoved the feather back at Claire.

"I don't want it right now! You're not even proposing properly! You're supposed to get on one knee and-"

"Like _hell_ I'm doing that, now take it or I'm throwing it away!"

"Go ahead, see if I care!" She tried to force the feather back into his hands but he pushed it back at her every time.

"You…_ass_! What the hell's your problem?" Claire held the feather in her clenched fists.

"What the hell's _my_ problem? What the hell's _your_ problem? Can't you even accept something like this without making a big shit about it?"

Claire opened her mouth and was just about to yell back at Gray when a sharp gasp was heard from behind her. They both turned to see a bewildered looking Anna, Sasha and Manna. Well, Sasha was the only one who looked bewildered, Anna looked disdainful and Manna seriously seemed as though she were having a field day.

"Goodness! Is that a _blue feather_?"

"That's…surprising."

"How unexpectedly _fantastic_, we just absolutely have to tell _everyone_!"

The three of them dashed off leaving Claire and Gray speechless.

"You idiot. This was supposed to be romantic." The blonde finally muttered.

Gray kicked at the snow, embarrassed, "You know…I'm not good at that stuff."

* * *

Don't like this chapter very much, it's too rushed and for some reason it irritates me...

Oh well, R&R


	7. The Day Before

For Claire, the past week had been pretty much a blur, it was filled with hasty preparations, surprised congratulations, and constant headaches. Her house had become a horrid mess filled with fabric material, letters, ribbons, make-up and much more, all in an attempt to prepare for what should have been the most perfect day of her life.

She should have known nothing was perfect in the world, especially when it involved certain ridiculous blacksmiths who refused to help with wedding preparations.

_Wedding stuff like this is such a girl job, why the hell am I helping? _

Claire scowled to herself. Something like this was a joint project, but as the week wore on she found herself cooped up in her house getting help from everyone _but_ her 'fiancé'. She shuddered at the term, well not exactly at the term itself, more like the term on the person she was getting married to.

At least, she kept telling herself, she wasn't going to be huge and heavy with a baby when she was in her wedding dress. At least. How long had it been anyway? She checked her reflection, no protruding belly, even if she'd been gaining a little more weight recently.

Glancing at her calendar she stared at the circled date that stated 'wedding'. Time had crept up on her, it was scheduled for tomorrow. Everyone in town was excited for this, except maybe herself and Gray, but of course they didn't show it. Everyday she'd have to plaster on a fake smile and try to sound genuinely happy when people cheered for her or congratulated her or told her how lucky she was. Lucky was probably the polar opposite of what she was feeling.

Yeah, she'd thought to herself that maybe this whole plan they'd come up with wouldn't be so bad. Maybe it wouldn't turn into one huge horrible mess and she'd be able to live out the rest of her life peacefully on her farm. Just maybe, she'd thought. But now she'd realized she was being idealistic. Nothing worked out that well, sure her and Gray got along well _before_, but now they could barely find it within themselves to be civil to each other.

Every conversation melted into an argument, every little thing she said he blew way out of proportion. It pissed her off, but what was she going to do? She certainly didn't want her child to grow up without a father, it would be the scandal of the century in a town like this.

There was a soft knock at her door, breaking Claire out of her internal brooding.

As she peeked outside she was absolutely delighted to find an old friend standing on her doorstep.

* * *

"Shouldn't you maybe…I don't know, be over at Claire's right now?"

Rick pushed his glasses up as he spoke to a sour looking Gray.

"Why should I be at Claire's?" he queried as he propped his feet onto the table. From across the room Ann was glaring daggers at him.

"Well, maybe it's because you're sort of getting married tomorrow?"

"Oh right. That." Gray tapped his chin thoughtfully and then shook his head. "She can handle it, besides, I'd just piss her off or something. There's really no point." He shrugged, as if he hadn't the slightest care.

Rick found this extremely odd behavior, now if _he_ were getting married he'd just be throwing himself into preparations. Wasn't it supposed to be a bonding experience with your soon to be spouse? Now that he thought about it Gray hadn't even taken much of an interest in his wedding, in fact he seemed to be avoiding it altogether, spending all his free time inside the inn, even outside the church playing with Stu, May and the Pastor.

Rick scratched his head quizzically but said no more, he remembered Gray's sour moods from when they were younger. Sighing he suppressed the memories from his awkward adolescent years.

"So…how'd you do it?"

Gray stopped chewing on his toothpick. "How'd I do what?"

Rick blushed and averted his gaze, "You know, how'd you propose?"

"Oh – I…" Gray tilted his chair slightly backwards, looking thoughtful. "I guess you could say it certainly wasn't one of your run of the mill proposals."

"Right, right." Rick nodded vigorously, his hair flipping around. "Like one of those proposals where the guy dresses up as Santa Claus and surprises the girl by giving her a ring!"

"Not really." Came Gray's flat reply.

"Oh."

"Well then…" Gray sat up suddenly and stretched, "I'm out of here. See ya."

Taken aback by Gray's sudden decision to leave, Rick nodded and silently waved as Gray walked out of the inn. He thought to himself that Gray was definitely avoiding _something._

In fact, Rick was quite correct. Gray was definitely avoiding something. He was aimlessly wandering the streets, going anywhere but Claire's farm. He knew he couldn't steer clear of the whole ordeal forever, he'd been the one who bought the feather for her in the first place. He also knew it was very unfair of him to just dump the whole wedding prep on Claire's head but he knew they'd just disagree about everything.

He was in such deep thought he failed to hear the footsteps trailing him and suddenly a pair of gloved hands reached from behind his head, covering his eyes.

"Guess whoooo!" A feminine sing-song voice said loudly.

Gray sighed heavily, "Popuri, get off."

"Aw! You're no fun, you don't even try and guess!" Gray glanced behind him to see her pouting, but she brightened up quickly. "So watcha doing out here? I hear Claire's still doing last minute preps for your _wedding!!_"

"Oh, is she? Good for her."

"Hey Gray, shouldn't you go over and heeelp?" She was twirling a lock of her pink hair, looking pensive, "When I was there this morning she seemed pretty swamped…and mad at you."

He shrugged and leaned against a lamp post, "If she wanted my help she'd ask me, right? I also try to steer clear of her when she's mad at me."

"Yeah, but…but this is your wedding! Even _if_ she hasn't asked you and even _if _she's angry, you should go and talk to her about it right? I mean that's what I think, it would probably make her happier to see you as well, she was so down in the dumps today." Popuri looked at Gray but he hid his eyes under his hat.

Popuri really wanted to help Claire, but sitting and planning was way to boring for her so she'd decided to bring Gray over instead! He'd do a much better job at that sort of meticulous work than she would, Popuri was sure of it! In fact, it was a fantastic idea, she just needed Gray to get to Claire's, but it didn't look like that would be happening anytime soon.

"Oh!" A new clever idea had suddenly sprung into her head and she reached out towards Gray.

"Uhh, hey, what're you doing?"

Popuri snatched his hat right off his head and ran.

"You want it back Gray? Come and get it!" Popuri laughed happily as she ran towards Claire's farm, Gray in hot pursuit. Of course Popuri didn't get very far running in her dress, Gray caught up with her quickly and plucked the hat out of her outstretched hand.

"What in the name of the Harvest Goddess is your problem?" He sighed angrily as he put his hat back on.

Again, Popuri pouted sadly. "I just wanted you to go help Claire…"

"I already told you that if she needed or wanted my help she'd ask right? Don't do something like that again Cotton Candy."

Popuri giggled, she loved that nickname.

"Aww Gray we're already at the entrance of her farm! Let's go together!" She hooked arms with the protesting blacksmith and marched purposefully foreword to Claire's house.

* * *

The coffee was getting cold, but Claire drank it all the same.

"It must have been really hard on you…" Her guest spoke softly as she traced the rim of her glass.

"I think 'really hard' is a bit of an understatement. It was all sorts of horrible! It still is!" Claire crossed her arms in a huff, "The fact that he hasn't even come to help makes it even worse."

"Well, you know Gray, he gets like that when he's…uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable my ass, he's just a lazy bastard, lazy and unreliable!" Claire shook her fist angrily, but let her arm fall limp, it just wasn't worth the effort at this point.

The two of them sat silently for some time, Claire occasionally nodding off because of fatigue until she finally fell asleep sitting on her chair.

Her guest sighed, Claire had really gotten herself into a fix this time.

"Helloooo!" Someone called from outside as they knocked on the front door.

Popuri smiled at Gray, who was looking slightly sick. "Don't make a face like that, she'll just get angrier at you."

The door opened, but Claire didn't stand behind it. Popuri burst out into happy squeals and Gray was in a state of shock.

"Mary! I misssssed youuuu!!" Popuri abandoned Gray's arm and gave the black haired woman a huge hug.

"I missed you too Popuri!" Mary laughed softly as she readjusted her glasses, then she looked at Gray and smiled in a heartwarming manner.

"I missed you too Gray." She held her arms out for a hug, but he couldn't bring himself to embrace her, instead his eyes narrowed at the ring on her left hand.

--

Popuri is a fun character to write about, so is Rick.

Wellll, this one took me forever D: But I'm already working on the next chapter, so hopefully it'll be out soon.


	8. The Previous Year

* * *

"I know you miss her."

He shrugged, "It's been so long now, I don't know if I miss her or resent her."

"It hasn't been _that_ long, and you shouldn't resent her!" She narrowed her eyes at him, "You know it's nobody's fault but your own."

He skipped a rock across the lake water in frustration, even when he was searching for sympathy this girl refused to give it to him.

Another rock skipped across the water, exceeding his rocks distance. "Why don't you just stop feeling sorry for yourself already? Get on with your life."

Irritated he stalked away from the lake, he just wanted to be by himself, "I just want to be by myself."

"Hmph. Alright fine, go and pout. We all know you could never take it like a real man. That's why she just left you a note instead of telling you in person."

She was trying to piss him off, trying to get a proper reaction out of him. She'd be doing the same thing for a while now but it didn't seem to get through to him.

"Oh why don't you…" _go fuck the Kappa_, "go to hell."

He didn't even have to heart to be a foul mouthed bastard anymore.

"Why don't you come kiss my ass!" She shouted in the distance. He ignored her and walked back up the mountain path. He could hear more rocks splashing faintly from behind him, she was relieving herself of frustration.

That what he needed to do, actually he'd been doing that for a good year now, it just didn't seem to be working.

Everything had gone wrong since _she'd_ left.

"God Gray, I'm actually beginning to worry about you." A voice drifted over to him, he'd stopped underneath a messy looking pine-tree. The girl farmer with orangey-blonde hair and bright blue eyes walked up next to him.

Claire, yeah, he knew of her. She had become a permanent thorn in his side lately, but Mary had taken a liking to this girl they day she'd landed in town.

_Mary_. His thoughts of her burned everything else he'd been thinking of. Burned in anger, resentment, hurt, fear. He scowled and lashed out at the only other person near him.

"If I'm such a worry then just piss off, I don't need annoying novice farmers bothering me."

"Hey I can farm better than you, and I'm not going anywhere alright? I'm here to look after you, as a friend."

_Friend_, since when had they gotten onto friendly terms? She was deluding herself.

"I'd rather be friends with anybody but you."

"Too bad, we're friends! Can't do nothing 'bout it." She shrugged nonchalantly and sat down at the foot of the tree. "Everyone's tired of you playing the tragic figure anyway, you just have to let some things go."

"…I don't want to let it go."

Claire looked up at him and squinted her eyes, "That is _so_ childish."

"You wouldn't understand anyway." Gray crossed his arms and looked away from Claire's blue eyes.

"Yeah right, you just feel sorry for yourself. What's to understand?" She stood up and dusted off the seat of her pants, "You're going to have to let it go at some point Gray, it gets old after a while."

With that she sauntered off, back to her farm, leaving Gray maybe a little more miserable than he was before she came.

* * *

"Hey, wait up!"

He stopped and looked behind him, Claire jogged up to him, her hair all messy.

"Hey."

She raised an eyebrow and looked at him with surprise, "What, no 'get lost', no 'what the hell do you want', no 'leave me the hell alone'? What's going on today?"

Gray shrugged, "I thought about what you said, and I guess you're right."

"Oh? Then I guess getting over Mary also means being nicer to me."

He coughed, a little embarrassed, "I've been a prick lately anyway, I should act more my age."

"Then I guess that means you can talk about it right? We all know it's not healthy to keep feelings like yours all bottled up inside, you could get seriously depressed or something."

"I said I was getting over it, I didn't say I wanted to talk about it."

She disregarded his last comment. "So what'd you think when you read her note? Actually, I can guess what you thought, it must have hurt, huh?"

Gray grunted angrily, this girl had no sense whatsoever, "I told you I didn't want to -"

"To tell you the truth I was surprised as well, who knew! What was that guys name in the valley? Something simple sounding…Jerry, Jared…" She rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"Jack. It was Jack." He kicked a rock off of the beaten mountain trail. "She went to see that bastard at least once every week."

Claire looked at Gray and sympathy washed over her, "Mary made her choice, and she's happy now. So, you should be happy too, even if it means you can't be with her." She scratched the back of her head when his frown deepened. "You have the rest of your life ahead of you anyway. There are plenty of ladies out there waiting for a guy like you!"

Gray stared at Claire, this girl was simply ridiculous. She seemed to have forgotten they lived in a tiny town and all possibly available girls were swooning over other guys. But he allowed himself a small smile, he knew she was just trying to make him feel better in her own stupid way.

"I wouldn't exactly say it like that, Blondie, but thanks anyway."

Her cheeks flamed with anger, "Claire, not blondie! Claire!"

* * *

Gray walked into his room at the inn and tiredly flopped onto his bed. Laying still for a few minutes he rolled over and reached under his pillow, pulling out a crinkled piece of paper.

Flipping on the lamp by his bed he sat up to read it.

_Gray,_

_When you read this I'm sure you'll realize that I've left town. I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid of how you'd react, it's cowardly, I know and I'm truly sorry. _

_I'm sure you understand how I feel though. I've never been so in love with anyone before, Jack just makes me happy. I know it sounds cliché, but he completes me, I want to spend the rest of my life with him. _

_I hope that you take my words to heart, you were always understanding when I needed you most and it hurts me to leave you like this. But I want you to remember that you're my best friend and I care for you very much. _

_Once again, I must apologize for this note, I truly wish I could have told you about my engagement in person. Forgive me. _

_Mary. _

He read it over numerous times, the words made his eyes sting and throat tighten. But he was over this. At least he told himself he was.

He walked over to the waste basket and tore the paper in half. Keeping Mary's sympathetic note just meant clinging to a past he wanted to forget. All he needed was himself, no one else. He crumpled the torn sheets of paper and threw them into the garbage.

Yes, he was over this.

* * *

Gray looked at Mary as she stood in Claire's doorway, her arms outstretched towards him. She was still beautiful, her silky hair was braided, her eyes glistened, her skin was still creamy, and her soft pink lips were smiling. He swallowed and gave her a stiff hug, because he knew that he was over her.

"Hey Mary, I missed you too."

* * *

Next chapter will be more on track with my main plot. Soooo...look foreward to it lol, because things aren't going to play out exactly how you think in upcoming chapters.


	9. The Beginning Of

"We have gathered here today to celebrate love, to witness in the coming together of these two people, whose hearts and spirits shall be intertwined forever hereafter..."

Claire didn't know why weddings were such a glorified event.

Yeah sure, you get married to your soul mate and all that, but really, is something like that really all that great?

She certainly didn't think so.

Maybe it was because she actually _wasn't_ marrying her soul mate, but that was besides the fact. Getting dressed up in a frilly white gown, having people blatantly _stare_ as you walked down a freakishly happily decorated aisle, it just wasn't her cup of tea.

She tugged at the lacy sleeve of her dress, Goddess, she'd get married in her dirty sweaty overalls any day.

Suppressing a yawn she glanced around the church. At least the town had put an effort into decorating the place, she was glad to see the rest of the church had been adorned with a more simple style than the petal strewn aisle she had walked down earlier.

Pastor Carter stood before her, droning on about matrimony and such, she'd tuned him out long ago, she was just waiting for the 'I do' part so she could finally take a seat and rip off her constricting gown. Instead she listened in on the quiet sounds behind her, she could make out the hushed whispers of Manna to her gossip buddies, Stu's whining, Popuri's excited murmuring.

She guessed she was happy that the town had turned out for her wedding, it sort of made up for how her parents couldn't make it.

And all too suddenly her attention was ensnared by Carter's words, "Do you, Claire, take Gray to be your lawful wedded husband?"

She gulped and closed her eyes, "I do." _That was for you, little growing baby. _She thought to her stomach as the words rolled off her tongue.

"Do you promise to love and cherish him, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, and forsaking all others, keep yourself unto him, for as long as you live?"

"Uhh...I do."

"And do you, Gray, take Claire to be you're lawful wedded wife?"

There was a pause, and Claire held her breath. She didn't know if she was hoping for him to say I do or I don't.

"Yeah, I do."

"Do you promise to love and cherish her, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, and forsaking all others, keep yourself unto her, for as long as you live?"

"...I do."

Polite clapping was scattered throughout the church and Carter smiled happily.

"To be loved is to know joy and happiness, to give love is to know the joy of sharing oneself, for it is through the miracle of love that we discover the fullness of life. May the Goddess always be with, protect, and guide both of you, now and forever," He nodded towards Gray, "You may kiss the bride."

Claire's faced scrunched up slightly as she turned to face the man that, in about five seconds would be her husband. He didn't exactly have the happiest look on his face either but nonetheless he leaned forward and she upward and their lips touched perhaps for a fraction of a second. The church exploded in cheers and excessive clapping, and maybe it was everyone else's happiness that sort of made Claire feel happy too.

**Some months later...**

It had been quite a while since that day, almost nine months since her diagnosis. Her stomach wasn't as big as she'd thought it was going to get, but yeah, it still made her look really pregnant. And the whole married life thing? It wasn't _so_ bad, she'd actually grown quite fond of Gray since he'd moved in. Of course they'd argued like there was no tomorrow but those arguments had become less and less frequent as time went on, she'd simply figured they'd just run out of things to disagree on.

What had really surprised her was that Gray was actually...excited for a baby. It had honestly caught her off guard, his enthusiasm for a little bundle of joy, because he'd seemed so morose and unhappy about it before. Well, he was always sort of morose and unhappy, but talking about having a baby sort of made his face light up. It was kind of sweet, and reassuring. He would be a loving father, she was sure of it.

And things between the two of them, besides the loss of their headstrong arguments, had in fact become simple daily routine for her. And it was a good daily routine, something she worked herself into easily. It had been a little awkward at first, a kiss on the cheek, holding hands, just being in such close proximity really, they'd played it out as an act for the town to see, but she found soon that she'd stopped acting and that it _was_ for real. When she had realized it, she had surprised even herself and when she'd told Gray, well it had certainly surprised him too.

Yeah, things were really (she couldn't believe she was saying this) good.

"Hey, you sure you don't need any help?" Gray questioned before he walked out the door.

"Yeah, yeah, it's all good. Don't worry about it."

He eyed her doubtfully, "...Maybe you should take the day off."

"Maybe _you_ should get to work, you know Saibara will chew you out for being late."

Irritated grumbling was heard but he closed the front door calling out a 'see you and be careful' behind him. She almost laughed, and placed a hand over her large abdomen, at least the man was concerned about their well being. Cramming the rest of her toast in her mouth she set about work, just because she was pregnant didn't mean she couldn't still farm! Despite the many offers from friends she'd insisted she stay an independent woman through her work.

But she had to admit, lately it was getting a lot harder to do things, even with the little assistance she had from the harvest sprites. Like actually picking her harvest, squatting she'd discovered, was just _hell_. She couldn't even stand back up without assistance and for some reason it always made her want to pee. Nonetheless she set out with her tools determined to get at least _some_ work done.

* * *

Gray glanced at the clock consistently, so much so it was affecting the quality of his work. But he couldn't help it, Claire's stubborn claims of being an independent farmer were putting her at risk, her _and _the baby. What would he do if something happened?

He scowled at the clock on the wall, it was only 11:30 in the morning, why did time have to pass so slowly? Maybe he'd ask if he could leave early, but knowing his grandpa he'd get a hard whack in the head instead of extra time off. So all he could do was work and wait, but he found he did more waiting than working.

A soft clicking noise was heard, the door had opened to the store. Curious he glanced over to see Elli, looking quite frantic, talking rapidly to his grandfather.

"Eh? Slow yourself down girl!" Saibara said gruffly as Elli spewed out quick sentences. As Gray walked over she immediately grabbed his arm.

"Gray! Gray there you are, Goddess, you've got to hurry back to the farm! Quick, quickly!" She pulled at him incessantly and they stumbled out of the store, Saibara in tow.

"Elli, what the hell's going on?"

"It's Claire! Her water broke for Goddess's sakes! We've got to hurry, I told the doctor I'd be back in five minutes!"

"Her water broke_...? Her water broke??" _He practically shouted and broke out into a run, Elli clung to his sleeve as she tried to keep up. "Why the fucking hell didn't you say so _sooner??_

The two of them dashed down the streets leaving Saibara far behind them and as they stumbled into the house, panting, they were greeted with warm hello's from both Claire and Tim. Gray gawked at Claire who seemed to be sitting very comfortably on the bed.

"I thought you're water broke." He said plainly as he looked for signs of discomfort on her face, but she simply smiled.

"Yeah, it did, it doesn't mean I'm in labour, you know. That comes a little bit later."

Tim nodded in agreement as he took a seat at the table, "Yes, hopefully it'll be quick, Claire seems to be dilating rather nicely. The only thing you have to worry about for now are you're contractions."

"Dilating? What's that?" Gray asked as he sat down at the end of the bed but Claire only laughed lightly and told him it was nothing he needed to worry about. Gray was rather annoyed but he questioned the doctor again. "So Tim, how long will it take?"

"How long will what take, the birthing process?" Tim tapped his chin thoughtfully, "You can never tell, hopefully it'll be quick but these things are unpredictable. All you can do is wait it out."

"Don't worry about it Gray, everything will be fine" Elli said and smiled warmly at him, "Although we're going to ask you to maybe wait in the kitchen or outside when she actually does go into labour. We don't want you getting in the way or anything."

"Ohh, yeah, I guess that makes...sense." He crossed his arms and contemplated arguing that point, he wanted to be around when his kid entered the world, but Claire nudged him with her foot and nodded in agreement with Elli.

"Don't worry about it Gray, everything will be fine."

* * *

Woooooooooooooooow, I'm soooo sorry for that huge hiatus you guys. I swear to all that is holy, I really tried to update quicker, but I had _school_ so I was sooo busy! But I've found time to write in between classes now, so hopefully I'll update quicker.

One more thing to note, the next chapter will probably be the last.

Well, even though it's been a crazy long time (has it been, like, a month already?!) **_R&R_**!


	10. The End

Maybe he'd done something really horrible in a past life, maybe he was just born with a curse over his head. But _damn, _it just...wasn't fair. It really, really wasn't.

And he knew he should have argued to stay with Claire when she was giving birth. Now look.

Their bloodstained bed sheets were crumpled into the corner of the house and Claire was sobbing hysterically into his jacket, her face was sweaty and her hair was matted this way and that. Her clear blue eyes were puffy and red rimmed but he could barely find it within himself to console her, he was trying too hard to fight back his own tears.

He'd never thought to prepare himself for a stillbirth.

Tim had offered his condolences of course, but...to Gray it had just sounded so damn _fake_. He'd managed a curt, silent nod as the doctor and his tearful nurse shuffled out of the house. Claire had simply sobbed as she pushed the still body of their baby into Elli's arms, they'd promised to bring it to the church and that a funeral ceremony would be held tomorrow.

Frankly, Gray didn't even think he was ready for a funeral ceremony. Claire's fingers dug deeper into his jacket and he felt his tears spilling over his eyes, why the hell did things just have to be so wrong in this fucking world.

--

"I'm not going." Claire whispered to him that night. He sat up in from bed and looked down at her, she appeared emotionless.

"You're not going...to what?"

"That funeral - Gray how can I?" Her voice cracked and tears began welling up in her eyes again; he watched as they slowly slid down her face. "Gray...that was my baby, oh Goddess, that was my baby..."

The sobs shook her body and he found himself at a loss. He didn't know what to say, telling her to go to the funeral would shatter her but telling her _not_ to go...well he'd hate to think of what people in town would say.

"...my baby...my baby..." her choked speech was killing him, it really was. Drawing her hunched over form into an embrace he hushed her until her sobs and murmurs were hiccups and whispers.

"Don't cry anymore, everything will be alright. I promise."

But he knew he was horrible at keeping promises and the words he'd spoken were hollow, because he didn't know if everything was going to be alright or not.

They awoke next morning and he was surprised to see Claire slide on her shoes with half-lidded eyes before he'd even changed. She was still in her nightgown, which resembled a camosille more than anything, and her ratty running shoes looked silly on her skinny exposed ankles.

"You're going out like that?" he asked, but she was already unlocking the door. He sighed heavily and grabbed a spare jacket, sliding it over her bare shoulders as he walked next to her. Without a single word to each other they walked slowly to the church at six in the morning, the fall air was crisp and the sun was just peeking out from the rooftops. Gray felt a pang of misery, today would be beautiful and it wasn't fair that he and Claire had to spend it mourning for a dead child. He fought back tears as they reached the doors of the church.

--

Rousing Carter from his slumber they held a funeral with just the three of them. That pastor had spoke softly and offered his apologies for their tragedy after they'd buried the little bundle. Gray had half expected Claire to jump into the grave after her baby but she stayed silent and stoic the whole ceremony.

Now it was just the two of them outside in the crisp autumn morning, Gray glanced at the blonde woman beside him and noted more tears dripping from her face. He held her hand silently, because that was the only way he knew how to be helpful to her. He was a silent pillar of strength for her to lean against.

And she leaned; she leaned for a very long time.

About a year and a half later the blonde woman he'd seen that day had finally receded back into the crazy, stupid, cheerful Claire he'd hated but had grown to love.

She'd become a prosperous farmer and he a (finally) professional blacksmith, and when one morning he noticed a rather large cardboard box that read First Response sitting on their kitchen table he was rather surprised to have a familiar little stick flung at him by his very happy wife.

He looked down at it as she hugged him tightly, blonde hair tickling his nose, and he made out through the flurry of hugs and laughter a little oval with two red lines through it.

"What is this?" he'd asked, just for fun.

She kissed his cheek and answered with a giggle, "This means I'm pregnant."

* * *

OK, wow it's about 2:00 am right now but I couldn't stop writing because...I really liked where I was going with this. LOL Hopefully you people reading this right now uhh kind of liked it too? I thought it was different from the other stories being written...LOL maybe this kind of different isn't such a good thing, but yeah D:

Anyhow, yes this is completely how I planned the ending to be from day 1! Now I'm not quite sure how stillbirth works but I did a bit of research so...yeah if I messed something up I'm sorry but you know I don't really care just don't review me saying it's messed up shit and this and that. You have a complaint about it please PM me or something.

Other than that, it's been a bumpy rollercoaster of inspiration and writers block but what do you know! My first long-fic, complete. Thanks to ya'll who've stuck around for this craziness, hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

And yes, I'm apologizing for the shortness of this last chapter but I didn't want it to like, drone on, you know? Anyway, R&R as always, peace!


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